A Summer Of A Different Sort
by Pirate.Jax.Quint
Summary: Post HBP. Harry's 6th Summer. Cigarettes. A mysterious muggle girl. Independance. Please Read and Review!
1. A Birthday, A Brief Habit, and A Girl

1**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. But I do own the smoking girl. Please don't sue.

**Author's Note:** This is just something I wrote. I might write more later. We'll see. Enjoy and don't forget to review.

**Chapter One: A Birthday, A Brief Habit, and A Girl.**

Harry sat back and fished the lighter from one of Dudley's leather jackets. The Dursley's had headed out of town for a few days to visit Aunt Marge in the hospital. She had collapsed the day before from a heart attack after trying to lug 3 bags of dog food back to her car. Harry silently thanked her and drew the flame toward the end of a cigarette. Tonight he was turning 17 and he didn't have to worry about the Dursley's being there to drag him out the door at midnight. It was 8:30 in the evening and the sky had began its transition from blue to red and orange. Slowly, his mind drifted back to the first time he had placed a cigarette between his lips, not so long ago...

Harry watched as his Aunt and Uncle drove off into the distance. In the next room he could hear Dudley pick up the phone and say something about a party. He thudded back into the hallway and pointed at Harry.

"I need you to get out," said Dudley.

"And go where?" Harry responded.

"I don't know but I'm having people over. Go to Ms. Figgs house or that poor freak friend of yours' _house,_ if that's what you call them."

"I'm not leaving. If I do, someone will come after you," said Harry coolly.

"Fine, but no one is to know that you are a _freak_." Dudley spat putting particular emphases on the word "Freak".

Later on that night, music of a very loud nature could be heard pouring out of #4 Privet Drive. Many teenagers were seen filtering through the many rooms pausing to sip from their drinks, converse with their friends or take a long draw on a cigarette that was making its way around the group. In amongst this giant storm sauntered Harry. He was calm as though he was the eye of the storm; hiding any sign of disturbance. He wandered through the drunken masses into the kitchen. He had slipped off earlier to his room to send a letter to Ron and Hermione asking if they were up to apparating over and keeping him company.

Ron had passed the test a week after he had gotten home so he expected Ron but Hermione was a different story. She hated being in amongst a crowd and tended to avoid them when possible; especially when they were drunk.

"Does anyone want this," asked a 5'5 girl with dark skin and straight purple hair. She looked directly at Harry and held the smoke up so he would realize what she was talking about. Harry just starred at her. She nodded at him still holding the cigarette.

"Do you want it?" She asked him again. Harry knitted his brow and nodded. She handed the burning tube to him and watched him take a long draw. He was unsure as to why he had taken it but for some reason it seemed like the best choice. Harry heard a faint 'crack' and looked around to see if anyone had heard the noise. The girl continued to gaze at Harry through a dazed expression. He merely glanced at her before bounding toward the stairs with the burning butt still pinched between his fingertips.

"You're here. I was wondering if you would be coming," said a male voice from inside Dudley's second bedroom. Harry pushed open the door and saw his best friend Ron lying on his bed. Hermione, his other best friend has just clearly arrived and was standing in the center of the room facing Ron.

"Oh hiya Harry," said Ron, sitting up. Hermione turned and pointed at his pinched fingers.

"Harry, is that a cigarette?" She asked with disappointed shock. Harry lifted his hand to give the smoke a good look. A moment later the girl who had given it to him stepped out from behind him.

"It's mine. He was holding it while I got another drink." She took it from his hand and hauled on to prove her point. Harry nodded and stared at her. She leaned against the wall and continued to smoke while the trio waited in an awkward silence expecting her to realize the out casting atmosphere.

"So your that kid. The one the rumors talk about. I didn't think you existed. So.. Who are you," the girl said without looking up. Both Ron and Hermione glanced back between the two. Harry stared at her with the same dazed gaze she had wore moments before.

"I'm not 'that' kid, I'm a kid. So don't worry about it. Now please get out of my room." he replied after a moment of thinking. She turned and stared straight into his face as if to try and see his whole life story. Then without so much as a word she turned and stalked out of the room. Harry closed the door and turned to Hermione and Ron.

"Dudley's birthday was on Tuesday and the party they threw for him clearly wasn't what he had had in mind," Harry stated. Ron chuckled and glanced at Hermione. She still was staring disapprovingly at Harry.

"We shouldn't be here.." she said now staring past Harry and at the door. "What if someone sees us?"

"We're not bloody ghosts, Hermione." Ron said screwing up his face.

"Then don't act like them," said a voice in the door. Everyone turned to see the girl had return; this time with four bottled drinks in tow. "Beer for you two," she said handing them to Harry and Ron "And a Smirnoff cooler for you." She said handing it to Hermione.

"I don't drink," replied Hermione with a sneer. The girl stared back with a more threatened look now.

"Ok that's fine. Doesn't bother me. Just don't say that to the jerks downstairs." She said jutting her thumb at the door.

"Why are you here if you can't stand who is downstairs?" said Harry as he sat down with is back on the edge of the bed.

"I wanted to meet you." She replied casually. Harry was a bit taken back by her statement.

"Oh? Why is that," Ron asked with growing suspicion. The girl turned and glanced at him, then gave a deep sigh.

"Because I hate everyone here. I'm new so meeting people is brutal. You see I know plenty of people but I have yet to meet one I like. So when people started talking about you I was skeptical and wanted to see if you were different." She finished. She gave the room another glance. Harry got up and walked out of the room. He traced the usual path down the stairs and out the door, without once looking back. He heard Ron and Hermione following him but he didn't stop and he didn't slow down. He had suddenly felt nausous and uncomfortable and figured it was best to remove himself from the situation before something happened.

Harry's thoughts were interupted by a loud crack. Ron was now sitting on his bed starring at the burning cigarette in Harry's hands. "I thought you told Hermione you didn't smoke," Ron asked with slight confusion. Harry starred down at it.

"I don't very often. This is only my fourth one." He replied. Ron shook his head.

"You'll get addicted. Percy did," retorted Ron. Harry gave him a confused look.

"Percy doesn't smoke."

"Yes he does. Mum made him hide it while he was home." Harry screwed up his face at hearing this and threw the cigarette out the window. "So if you don't smoke because your addicted, then why bother?" Ron continued. Harry glanced around his room and then out the window.

"Remember that girl?" Harry said with an air of absent-mindedness. Ron laid back stared at the ceiling. After a moment he nodded. "I wonder who she was." Harry continued. Ron rolled over and looked at his best friend.

"Do you fancy her?" Ron asked.

"No."

"Are you scared of her, is she evil or something?"

"No"

"Then what does she have to do with smoking?"

"She gave me the first draw... So every time I smoke now I think of her."

"Well is she important in any sort of way?"

"No,"

"Then stop smoking and stop thinking about her. Your slowly dying by puffing on that thing."

"Ron, I've been dying since I was one." Ron gave him a concerned glance.

"No you haven't." Ron replied dismissing the subject."So your birthday is in 3 hours. What do you want to do?"

"Find a flat. Or even better, lets go to Godric's Hollow."

**A/N:** Don't forget to review and I might write a new chapter.

I'm out for now

Pirate Jax.Quint


	2. An Exhausting Search

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Honda Civic. The characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the Civic belongs to Honda.

**  
Author's Note:** I'm not one to follow the actual Harry Potter time line. Thus this story takes place in present day not 1997. Also, since I am Canadian I'm not entirely sure how the British currency system works. I have done research but fair warning of incorrect usage. Just remember that.

**Chapter 2: An Exhausting Search**

Ron walked out of the kitchen and headed towards Harry's room with the morning newspaper in his hand. Harry was removing the things from the wall when Ron entered the room.

"Fuck, it won't all fit," muttered Harry. Ron pulled his wand out of his back pocket and aimed it at the contents of Harry's trunk.

"Reducio! There. Now you should be able to get something else in there," Ron stated. Harry was a bit taken aback by Ron's use of magic but was soon consoled by the fact that Ron was now a full fledge wizard. Actually, now that he thought about it, he was too. He grinned and pulled out his wand. The rest of his things flew into the trunk and the lid slammed shut and locked. Harry grinned again.

"Here's the paper," said Ron. Harry stared at Ron.

"I think I'm going to move into Godric's Hollow. I want to see what my parents' life was like before Voldemort killed them."

"That's not a good idea," Ron said shaking his head. "I mean we can go see it but moving there doesn't seem like a good idea Harry. Your house was destroyed remember? Not to mention the fact that Voldemort would probably be waiting there to attack you. You're safer here close to your family." Harry was now glaring at Ron.

"It's amazing really how you sound more and more like Hermione every day. You still don't know what you're talking about though." Ron's ears started to show a dangerous shade of red.

"I just don't want my best mate to get himself killed. Sorry for giving a fuck." There was a loud 'crack' and Ron was gone. Harry instantly felt like shit for snapping at his best friend. He lay down on the bed and thought about Godric's Hollow. Maybe Ron was right. Maybe it would be better if he stayed close to the Dursley's. He picked up the paper and started to read through the flat advertisements. He circled three possibilities and laid the paper back down. Snatching up a piece of parchment and a quill he scratched a quick apology to Ron and explained about the three flats he had read about. Writing a final brief invitation to help him choose, Harry rolled up the parchment and trotted over to a sleeping Hedwig's cage.

"Wake up. I need you to bring this to Ron," he said softly. She ruffled her feathers and stuck out her left leg. Then with a soft 'hoot' she set off out the window.

It was 10:30am on 31 of July. Harry was awake, showered, dressed, and well fed. He had transfigured his trunk into a backpack and had been sitting on the bed waiting for Ron for half an hour. He was starting to get frustrated and decided it was time for a cigarette. Laying down the backpack, he crossed the hall and headed into Dudley's main bedroom. He opened the closet door and reached into a pocket of one of his cousin's leather jackets. Just then he heard a loud 'crack' followed by a crash and some frustrated language. Harry smiled, put the pack of smokes back in the jacket and went back to get his bag. Ron was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Behind him was Hermione. She was giggling at the very tired looking Ron.

"Sorry we're late. I had to get the twins to help me get him out of bed." she said smiling. Harry chuckled and started down the stairs towards them. At this Ron muttered something about sleeping rights of the summer, before heading back into the kitchen to get something out of the fridge.

"I haven't taken my apparition test yet so we'll have to walk to the different flats," said Harry. Ron stared at him and grumbled something incoherent yet again.

"Oh Ron it won't be so bad. It's a nice morning." Hermione stated.

"Nice or not it's still morning. I'm not walking anywhere until noon." he replied. Hermione shook her head and pulled a toy car out of her pocket.

"I figured this would happen so I brought my car," she said with a sigh. "But we will have to go to an alleyway because Harry's aunt and uncle don't have a garage and the neighbors would question how is it that we are growing a car in the driveway." Harry nodded and Ron let out an annoyed grunt. The trio pulled on their trainers and left the house.

Harry leaned against the wall in the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. Hermione had set the car down in middle and was pointing her wand at it and casting the Enlargement charm. The silver civic grew to normal size and everyone got in.

"Ok where to first?" Hermione asked as she started up the car. Harry read out the first ad for a flat.

_Two bedroom flat. One bathroom, kitchen, living room._

_19A Genive_ _avenue, Little Whinging, Surrey._

_Rent negotiable._

"Genive Avenue it is then." She replied before pulling out onto the street.

Ron laid back and seemed to be taking in as much sleep as he could before the car pulled into a driveway. "Ron, wake up. We're here." Hermione said nudging him.He awoke with a start and grumbled as he got out of the car.A man with straggling blond hair and a protruding girth stepped out on to the step and nodded at them.

"You here about the flat downstairs I suppose." Harry nodded. The man let out a rather disgusting belch and pointed toward the door on the side. "Take a look and let me know what you think."The three exchanged glances before advancing toward the door. Harry looked down at the handle. It was worn and unkept. He grasped it tightly and turned it. The interior of the apartment was, like the door handle, worn and unkept. As they entered a strong musty smell wafted past their noses leading to much coughing and sneezing. The floor had an undistinguishable color and it seemed that there were holes leading down straight down into the earth, if the carpet did not cover them.

"Eug!" exclaimed Ron. A grey spider of abnormal size crawled out from under the carpet at the edge of the room. "I hope this is the worst one we have to see today." Harry shook his head and left the flat. Once outside he took a deep breath and waited for the other two to follow him. After a few moments his curiosity stepped up and he heading back in to see what had happened to his two best friends.

Once inside, an ear splitting scream rang through Harry's ears. He sprinted toward the farthest bedroom and found Hermione and Ron in the corner cowering away from an adolescent Skrewt. He pulled his wand from his backpack and shouted, "Immobulus!" With a swift motion only seen in those who are panicked, Ron and Hermione ran from the corner. Hermione pulled out her own wand this time and transfigured the creature into a spider before casting a concerned glance at Harry and Ron.

"How did that get here?" Harry muttered to no one in particular.

"Who cares? We've taken care of it. We should just go now. Come on. You still have two other flats you want to see today." Ron replied. He turned around and headed back out into the fresh morning air. Harry and Hermione followed without a word. Once outside the trio dove for the car. Harry had just opened the right backseat door when a voice called out to them.

"Oi! What did you think?" It was the uncouth man again.

"Um, sorry it's not for us. Thanks anyway," Harry called back before disappearing in the car. Ron turned around and looked at Harry with a wide grin plastered on his face. Hermione started to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked. He was confused by how the mood had just changed so drastically from only moments before.

"That man looked like a child would look like if its parents were Slughorn and Lucius Malfoy." Ron chuckled. "Egh!" Harry chuckled and shook his head.

"Let's just look at the other two" he said passing Hermione the addresses. She started the car and they sped off to evaluate the next candidate.

The trio had seen the other two flats before lunch. Neither was much better than the first. The second was too small and costed too much. The third was perfect up until they met the land lady. She was a bit off her rocker. After she explained her long list of strict rules the trio uneasily promised to mull things over during lunch and contact her at a better time.

"Well I guess the third is the obvious choice. The other too just seemed unreasonable," Hermione stated before munching on a forkful of salad. Harry shook his head.

"But those rules seem a bit over the edge. I might not be able to follow them to a tee. I need to shower more than 3 times a week and I can't be expected to only flush the toilet once every two days just because she can't stand the sound of water through the pipes." Harry replied.

"He's right Hermione. Harry can't live there. The land Lady would have the mickey torn out of him," added Ron. Hermione gave a deep sigh and took another big of her salad. There was silence for a few moments as Ron took another large bite of his Hamburger.

"Ron, see that yellow box over there with the window showing the muggle newspaper, take these and buy one." Hermione said handing him a one-pound coin and 50 pence.

"But what do I do," Ron asked with a confused look on his face. Harry, puzzled as to why Hermione didn't make him get the newspaper, finished his club sandwich and awaited an explanation.

"Just place the coins in the slot, pull the handle toward you and reach in and get the morning paper. It's not too difficult." Hermione replied in an exasperated tone. The waitress that was pour them each another glass of water, glanced at the bickering two with condescending disbelief.

"He's from a tiny town when they just sell the paper in piles on the street," said Harry quickly. The waitress nodded and moved on to the next customers. Harry turned back to see Ron heading back to the table clutching the new newspaper.

"I'm teaching Ron how to be more muggle-like," Hermione stated. Ron nodded and smiled. "He now knows how to use a washer and dryer, how to use a phone and that the television isn't a two way communication device." Harry chuckled at the thought of Ron yelling at the telly. Hermione thrust the paper under his nose and pointed to a small advertisement on the bottom of the left page.

_Three bedroom basement flat. _

_One bathroom, kitchen, living room._

_27A Ridley Blvd, Little Whinging,_

_Surrey, England._

_Reasonable Rent. See Land Lady._

Hermione shook the paper for emphasis.

"OK, we can go and see that one, but if I don't find a flat by noon tomorrow then we're going to Godric's hollow," said Harry before munching on one of Ron's fries. Hermione nodded and went back to circling any possibilities.

The trio had seen three more possibilities and the sun had started to go down. They pulled into the driveway of 27 Ridley Blvd and looked up at the house with hope. It had seemed normal enough as they climbed out of the car. Hermione went to the front door while Harry and Ron snuck a peek in the window to give a quick judgement.

" Look how clean the window is," Ron said admiring the glass as the moved toward it.

"There's hard wood down instead of carpet," muttered Harry. "

"And look how clean the walls are. Harry, you'd be stupid not to move in here," exclaimed Ron.

"The rent will probably be brutal," he replied heavily.

"It's not bad at all actually; only £450 a month. You can afford that for a while. Mrs. Tuck thinks it's too much but her real estate agent wouldn't put it on the market if it were any lower. Go talk to her. She's getting the papers and the key to the flat." Hermione said walking down the front steps. The trio waited for two or three minutes before a tiny woman with snow white hair and an absent-minded air hurried out of the house.

"Here are the keys and a copy of the paper work incase you would like to do a bit more investigating." She said in a timid mousey voice. She handed Harry a brown envelope and a set or keys. "I hope you like it. It's kind of plain." Harry handed the envelope to Ron and headed toward the door.

He unlocked the door and slowly opened it. Harry could feel himself gasp before he said

"I'll take it!"

**A/N:** That's it. There's the second chapter. Please read and review.


	3. Autobiographies

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. The Characters belong to J.K. Rowling

**Author's Note:** I'm not one to follow the actual Harry Potter time line. Thus this story takes place in present day not 1997. Just remember that.

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**Chapter 3: Autobiographies**

Harry placed the frame on the corner table and stood back. This was it. He had his own place away from the abusive Dursleys. He threw himself down on the couch and let out a relieved sigh.

There was a knock at the door. Puzzled as to whom he knew that could possibly be coming over to visit him at 10:28pm Harry snatched his wand and crept toward the door. Unfortunately his front door was not of the kind with a spy hole, so bracing his self safely behind the door, he pulled hard at the handle and exposed only his head to the person standing on the other side.

It was his landlady. And she was holding a tray of quite appealing baked goodies.

"Oh my! Sorry if I gave you a fright my dear boy. I was baking some bread for the week and thought you might like some 'welcome to the neighborhood' sweets," she said in a timid nervous voice. Harry stepped aside and let her into the flat. She scurried over and laid them on the table.

"Sorry Mrs. Tuck, I just wasn't expecting anyone so late," he replied apologetically

"Yes, well I was on my way to bed myself when I remembered I had to bring these down to you."

"Thank you very much. You didn't have to do this. I appreciate it."

"Oh I do hope you like them. Well I'm off. See you in the morning Mr. Potter." And with that she was gone again. Harry looked over the tray before laying them in the fridge. As good as they looked, Harry just didn't feel like it was the right time for a cookie. Instead he shoved on his trainers and headed out for a walk.

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There she was. It was definitely her; he could tell. It wasn't the lit cigarette that she so casually puffed on, nor was it her unique violet hair color that shone so magnificently in the light of the dying sun and already arisen full moon. It was the mysteriously graceful peace that over took him when she was around. That was how he knew. She sat there on the swing, left of his usual place. Gently, back on, she swung, oblivious to his presence.

'Don't be stupid. She wouldn't mind if you joined her. Then she can drill you about your life. Harry Potter single handedly gives away the secret of the wizarding world.' Harry thought viciously.

'_What is wrong with you! You were raised by muggles! I bet Hermione has plenty of muggle friends. Besides, you're not thick enough to let the secret go. Plus, they have spells to erase her memory. Go talk to her!' _

Harry thought again. A feeling of new courage lapped over him and he trudged over and took his usual place.

"Never thought I would see you again," she muttered.

"Yea, well this was my place to get away from my family. Sorry about before, I'm not really used to people wondering about me." Harry felt his cheeks getting hot. Lying to this girl made him feel strangely horrible.

"So, now that you're willing to talk, who are you?"

"My life story or the basics," Harry asked with a laugh.

"Both," she replied somberly.

"Well, my parents died in a car crash when I was one, so I live with my aunt, uncle and cousin. When I was eleven went away to attend a boarding school in southern Scotland. I was expelled last June so I'm not going back. I have two best friends named Ron and Hermione who I met while away. My godfather died when I was 15 and my teacher – and friend – died three weeks ago. I dated Ron's sister for a few weeks but broke off when the teacher died. I'm 17 on the 31st of this month and my name is Harry James Potter. And that's it," he answered. She gaped at him, then turned her gaze to the ground.

"Where do you stand on all that," she asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean everyone who tried to guide you is abruptly pulled away."

"I guess I keep going. That's what they wanted, I think," replied Harry. He looked at her as she nodded in understanding. "Anyways, what about you," he asked, desperate to change the subject.

"I was born in Newfoundland. Then I moved to Wales when I was 4. Then my father moved us to London when Mom died. I had 3 best friends, Thatcher, Oliver and Sebastian, but I don't know where they are now. Last month I graduated from University with a Psychology degree and minored in Mythology. I'm going back to do Biology next year, but I need a break for now."

"Wow. I thought you were younger. Why do you need a break?"

"My father died six months ago of a brain aneurism. Well that's what they said. The doctors I mean. There was an argument that broke out between the consultants saying what happened. Apparently they couldn't determine what it was. Dad didn't show any symptoms. Anyways I own everything now until my older brother, Malcolm comes home. He's been missing for five years now.

When dad died, I moved to Little Whinging. And, I'm two days older then you," she replied. Harry gave her a puzzled look. "My birthday is on the 29th." She stated.

"No, no, it's not that. It's just… I mean yes, wow for being so young but…" he trailed off.

"But what?"

"Well… um… you see…" he stumbled. She looked at him eagerly.

"Idon'tknowyourname," he blurted out. She laughed.

"It's Artemis, Artemis Violet Windsor. But I've been called every possible nickname in the book so choose what you want. I really don't mind," she replied looking slightly embarrassed.

"I'll stick with Artemis for now," said Harry noticing the look on her face. She nodded and threw the cigarette in the sand.

"Oh, and one more thing," she said nervously.

"I love magic." Harry could feel his face go pale.

"Well the concept anyways. I have since I was a little girl. Dad had a friend that could do magic." Harry was sure his stomach was somewhere around his ankles at this point.

"He only did magic tricks but I was always sure he could do more. You must think I'm the strangest girl in the world," she finished chuckling.

"No, it's fine. I was raised not to believe in it so it seems a bit foreign to me," He said giving a half-hearted chuckle and hoping she didn't notice his panicky tone.

"Oh. Well that's rotten luck isn't it," Artemis muttered. He only nodded in response. "Welly well well, it's 11:37. I must be heading home. It was nice to meet you Harry," she said as she stood up and walked backwards out of the park. "Maybe I'll see you around again some time." She turned and headed on her way. Watching her go Harry suddenly felt the urge to walk her home. He leapt off the swing and ran after her.

"Thought I should get an idea of where you live," he said panting. "Just in case I need a friend." She giggled and nodded. And the two headed off into the darkness together.

"You're a pretty cool kid Harry Potter. I don't think I'll mind being your friend."

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Artemis lived in a ground level bungalow, three streets away from Harry's new flat. It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, a living room, and a kitchen.

"You not really the struggling, emancipated teen type, are you?" Harry asked looking at the clearly expensive looking technology in her office. A shiny new desktop computer sat in the center of a dark mahogany desk. Next to it sat a laptop, that look about the same age.

"I'm orphaned, not emancipated." She replied.

"But what about your guardians?"

"Mr. Lupin is my guardian, but he and I made a deal that I would live on my own for now. He does have a room here though. It's in the basement."

'_Remus Lupin,'_ Harry thought quickly.

"Mr. Lupin?"

"My father's friend. You know the one that could do magic," She replied.

"How do you know he could do magic!"

"I saw him do it." Harry gaped at her for a few moments.

"Do you want the full story?" she asked smiling. He nodded.

"Well when I was about seven, he came to live with us."

"Why?"

"Um, because it was one year after my mother had died and Dad had been the only one taking care of us up until that point. There was the rare occasion of a babysitter but not very often. Dad wasn't ready to leave us alone yet. One winter night Remus, er, Mr. Lupin showed up at the door, begging for a place to stay until the morning. A blizzard started that night and lasted two days. Do you remember that night?"

Harry nodded again. The Dursleys made him shovel the walk when the storm cleared off. It took him the whole day and he almost had frost bite in his fingers and toes.

"Over those two days, him and dad became friends. Malcolm and myself especially like him. He would show us magic tricks, tell us myths and legends of dragons and wizards. Dad asked him to stay and take care of us as a sort of nanny I suppose. He ended up staying for two years. Every now and then he had to leave for a day or two but other then that he lived with us around the clock."

"But how do you know he could do magic?"

"I'm getting there. Don't interrupt."

"Right. Sorry."

"One night, when dad was away, he showed us this new magic trick. I begged for him to tell me how he had done it, but he preferred to keep it a secret. So being as curious as a seven year old can be, I snuck into his room and started going through his trunk."

"So you didn't actually see him doing magic." He interrupted again.

"Do you want me to finish this story?"

"Sorry. Continue."

"Where was I?"

"You were picking through his trunk."

"Right. Well I found a cleanly carved stick and an old school notebook. On the page I opened it to there were directions for a summoning charm. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it to work so I took the book downstairs and into the kitchen where-"

"He showed you!"

"Harry! Stop. Let me finish the story!"

"But you're taking so long!"

"I went into the kitchen where he was doing the dishes and humming to himself. He didn't hear me come in so I snuck up behind him and stuck the stick in his back pocket. Then I memorized the saying on the page.

How do you say A-C-C-I-O?" I asked him.

"Akkio" he replied barely paying attention.

"Cookie Accio. Is that correct?"

"Accio cookie." He muttered. He still wasn't paying any attention.

Then a cookie flew across the room and hit him in the arse. He whipped around with a look of shock on his face. I was grounded for two days for going through his things. I wasn't allowed to tell Dad or Malcolm. And when I asked him about it he would dismiss the question and send me off to do something else."

Harry gaped at her again. "So, that's all. Right. Well. Ok." He said more to himself then her. She chuckled and walked into her bedroom.

"Ok, I'm going to head home. I'll talk to you later." Harry called heading back to the door. He needed to send Hedwig off right away. He wanted to hear Remus' side of the story.

"Wait! Here," she said handing him a small piece of paper. "That's my phone number. Catch me if you ever need to talk to anyone."

Harry nodded and left.

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**A/N:** Yep. That's it. I'll have the next chapter up soon. Read and Review please.


	4. Author's Note!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hiya, Pirate Jax here.

I know I promised that the next chapter would be up soon but I've been a little distracted lately. Actually I can mostly blame it on not having a word processor that I was comfortable with since my Microsoft Word 12 beta ran out. But now I have Open Office and I shall get back to my writing. I do however ask one favor. I noticed that my stats say that 344 people have been looking at the chapters of my story, yet I only have 7 reviews. So even though 7 is quite the lovely number it isn't quite so encouraging when writing a story. And I realize that the number might be tallied up with certain people looking for updates. So I ask for just 5 more reviews before I upload the next chapter. I know some of you have been waiting quite some time for this. So tell people about it. Tell people to read it and give an opinion. That's I'll I'm asking.

So I leave you now to start in on my end of the bargin.

That's it for now.


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